Judge Says He's Compassionate

Critics Say He's Rude

Judge Alan Todd Says Workers Who Have Complained About Him Don't Understand His Intentions.

November 3, 1996|By Debbie Salamone of The Sentinel Staff

Orange County Judge Alan Todd prides himself on his ability to talk with criminal defendants so he can fashion a fair yet compassionate sentence.

But his talk has gotten him into trouble.

Todd, who had handled misdemeanor cases, was reassigned to traffic court last month - several months earlier than planned. Court workers had complained that his courtroom comments were sometimes rude, particularly to minorities. The president of the Hispanic Bar Association said an apology may be in order.

Todd, 55, said he has done nothing wrong and is simply dispensing justice that cannot be appreciated by those who don't understand his good intentions. A sampling of his cases shows he is not harsher on minorities or anyone he lectures in court.

Still, his comments have offended some people. For example, he digressed into a lecture on the U.S. peacekeeping mission in Haiti while sentencing a Haitian refugee on a battery charge:

''We invited you in and gave you protection. We gave you our troops, protection of our laws as if you are a citizen. We expect you to follow the laws, and now that we've restored democracy, you're free to go home. We only gave you a brief refuge, right? Didn't expect you to make a career out of it.''

Additionally, court workers have accused him of challenging or being sarcastic to people who have trouble with English. James Auffant, president of the Hispanic lawyers group, said some lawyers wonder why Todd asks only some defendants where they are from.

''If you are going to ask the question, you ask it to everybody,'' Auffant said. ''Why are we getting into this conversation? . . . Basically, he's a fair, even-handed person, so these other things don't make any sense.''

In one case, a woman with a Hispanic-sounding last name was in court on a theft charge. Confused about getting into a pretrial diversion program, she tried to explain her situation. But Todd, who later said he didn't believe the woman's account, suggested that she misunderstood English.

'' 'Going in,' 'applying to go in' and 'being in' are different English words,'' the judge told her. ''They are different words and have different meanings. . . . Maybe you didn't understand the English,'' he said.

She responded: ''No sir, I understand very good English, sir. I don't want to be mean.''

Todd said he wants to help people in the brief time he has contact with them and thinks his lectures are helpful. He insisted nothing was wrong with his comments to the Haitian refugee and said he asks people with accents to enunciate because it's important to understand them.

''I may have a hearing problem,'' Todd suggested.

He asks all suspects for their birthplaces because it helps him determine whether they can communicate well enough to knowingly and willingly plead to their criminal charges, the judge said. He considers the accusations against him ridiculous.

''It is the antithesis of everything I am,'' said Todd, a University of Florida law school graduate and judge since 1990.

In fact, he said, he spent his own money to translate legal forms used in court to Spanish. He hired a black secretary. And he is close friends with a family of Cambodian refugees.

Some defense lawyers think Todd, a former private lawyer and prosecutor, is a sensitive, caring judge who listens.

''He's a good guy trying to help solve the problem,'' said attorney Robert Nesmith. ''He tries sometimes in an unconventional way to chastise people.''

But the judge, a married father of two, also has raised some eyebrows with his speeches about morality. He recently took several men to task when they appeared in court on sex charges - indecent conduct or prostitution.

''I want you to know just about everyone I know, not everyone, believes this conduct to be legally and morally wrong, reprehensible conduct, anti-social, inappropriate, improper and when I see it I think of all these things and I think there must be a psychological component to it . . .

''I know of no ethical or legal or moral system that allows this type of behavior and does not condemn it as being morally reprehensible. I don't know of one; maybe the organization that encourages pedophiles. They probably encourage it.''

The judge said his comments were directed at public sex, not homosexuality. ''Laws without morality are of no avail,'' Todd said. ''If it's not morally wrong, why do we pass laws against it? I don't sentence the offense. I sentence the person and I have to ask questions.''

Gov. Bob Martinez appointed Todd to the bench in 1990, and he was re-elected to a second four-year term in 1994. He has scored low among other county judges in lawyer opinion polls. He has been criticized as inefficient and indecisive, and one lawyer this summer anonymously noted in a poll that Todd was ''extremely intolerant'' of gender and minorities.

Todd was scheduled to move to traffic court in January, but his early transfer took effect Oct. 20. Chief Judge Belvin Perry would not elaborate on the matter but said ''he discussed in detail with Judge Todd the reasons for his being transferred early.''

Todd maintains he volunteered for the early switch to get a change of pace.

Chief judges cannot punish other judges but may change their work assignments. Punishment comes from the Florida Supreme Court on the recommendation of a state board that oversees judicial conduct. The board, called the Judicial Qualifications Commission, keeps complaints confidential until it decides whether formal charges should be filed.